It has been the ambition of physicians since the origin of time to diagnose illness and internal pathology by some external means. The ancients used observation, palpation, succussion, the pulse, mensuration, uroscopy and later percussion but the first instrument to examine the inside the body in a non-invasive way was the stethoscope, which was devised by René Théophile Hyacinthe Laennec (1781–1826).
The full article is accessible to AMA members and paid subscribers. Login to read more or purchase a subscription now.
Please note: institutional and Research4Life access to the MJA is now provided through Wiley Online Library.
- 1. Bishop PJ. Evolution of the stethoscope. J R Soc Med 1980; 73: 448-456.
- 2. Blaufox MD. An ear to the chest: an illustrated history of the evolution of the stethoscope. New York: Parthenon Publishing Group, 2002.
- 3. Auenbrugger JL. Inventum novum ex percussione thoracis humani ut signo abstrutsos interni pectoris morbos detegendi. 1761.
- 4. Corvisart JN. Nouvelle methode pour reconnaitre les maladies internes de la poitrine. Paris: Migneret, 1808.
- 5. Granville AB. Sudden death. London: John Churchill, 1854.
- 6. Laennec RTH. De l’auscultation mediate ou traite du diagnotic des maladies des poumons et du coeur. Paris: Brosson et Chaude, 1819.
- 7. Duffin JM. Why does cirrhosis belong to Laennec? CMAJ 1987; 137: 393-396.
- 8. Holmes OW. The poetical works of Oliver Wendell Homes. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1892.
- 9. Gandevia B. The evolution of the stethoscope and the techniques of auscultation and percussion. Med J Aust 1960; 1: 782-787.
- 10. Forbes J, Tweedie A, Conolly J. The cyclopedia of practical medicine. London: Sherwood, Gilbert, Piper, Baldwin, Craddock, 1833.
- 11. Wilbur CK. Antique medical instruments. 6th ed. Atgen, Pa: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2008.
- 12. Routh C. On some of the symptoms of early pregnancy. BMJ 1864; 2: 594.
Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.
I thank Richard Golden (New York) for encouraging me to write this article and for his suggestions to improve it, and M Donald Blaufox (New York) for his book and helpful comments. The assistance of librarians Kaye Lee (Concord Hospital) and Liz Rouse (Royal Australasian College of Physicians) in locating obscure references is gratefully acknowledged. I also thank my daughter-in-law Chantale Roxanas for her photography.